China and India agree to ‘maintain peace’ along disputed border

Military leaders from China and India have vowed to “maintain the peace and tranquilly” along their disputed border, ostensibly in an effort to calm things down after a spike in tensions.

China and India agree to maintain peace: The 19th round of commander-level talks held on Sunday and Monday resulted in a “positive, constructive and in-depth discussion” focused on resolving issues related to the Line of Actual Control in the border’s western sector, according to statements made in unison by the defence ministries of the two nations late on Tuesday.

According to the statement, they “agreed to promptly address the outstanding issues.” However, there is no indication that either side is willing to make concessions.

“In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain the peace and tranquilly on the ground in the border areas,” the statement continued.

Lauding the discussions on Wednesday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, emphasized the parties’ intention to “sustain the momentum of communication and dialogue through military and diplomatic channels.” These meetings took place at the Indian army station in the town of Chushul-Moldo.

From Ladakh in the west to the easternmost state of India, Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims to be its whole territory, are divided by the Line of Actual Control. 1962 saw a battle over their shared border between China and India. As implied by its name, it divides physical control zones rather than territory claims.

India claims that the de facto border is 3,488 km (2,167 miles) long, but China advocates a much shorter distance.

China has a total claim to 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 square miles) of land in northeastern India, including the predominantly Buddhist state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Unraveling the Ladakh Standoff: India-China Relations and Border Tensions

In the Aksai Chin plateau, which India regards to be a part of Ladakh and where the current standoff is taking place, India claims that China occupies 38,000 square kilometres (15,000 square miles) of its land.

In the interim, China started to bolster Pakistan’s relations with India and support it over the disputed Kashmir issue.

However, In 1967 and 1975, more firefights broke out, which resulted in more casualties on both sides. now then, they’ve created protocols, including a commitment to never use weapons, but those protocols have now broken down.

Three years ago, a clash in the Ladakh region claimed the lives of twenty Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers. The Ladakh region saw tens of thousands of military personnel from both sides stationed with artillery, tanks, and fighter jets, resulting in a prolonged standoff.

In spite of maintaining additional troops as part of a multi-tiered deployment, both India and China have withdrew troops from certain locations along the northern and southern banks of the Pangong Tso, Gogra, and the Galwan Valley.

During discussions with his Chinese counterpart General Li Shangfu in April, India’s defence minister accused China of undermining the “entire basis” of relations between the two countries by breaking bilateral agreements.

According to India, China’s large-scale force deployment, belligerent attitude, and attempts to unilaterally change the border’s status quo all contravene bilateral accords.

However, The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which consists of China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, was gathering in New Delhi at the time Li was there.